Kildimo-Pallaskenry enjoying the calm before the county final storm
The quick-as-lightning rise through the grades of Limerick football have led to this occasion where they come up against the traditional powerhouse that is Fr Caseys
THE cliche says you must treat it like any other game.
But for Kildimo-Pallaskenry, playing a first ever Irish Wire Products Senior Football Championship final, there’s no point in pretending this is the case.
The quick-as-lightning rise through the grades of Limerick football have led to this occasion where they come up against the traditional powerhouse that is Fr Caseys.
The way the club calendar is currently set up however, means there is very little time to dwell on the size of the occasion - instead players are going from match to match. Perhaps this is why Kildimo-Pallaskenry Tony McCarthy has been happy to enjoy a “pleasantly quiet” build up to the decider.
“Obviously we only just got over the semi-final so just trying to get back on the horse, trying to get minds focused again,” he said at the launch of the final, which throws in at 3.30pm at Mick Neville Park.
“It was a big emotional and physical battle against Mungret, so delighted to get over it. The lads seem fairly calm at the minute, we are so used to playing so many games over the summer between hurling and football, we just take it in our stride, but no doubt close to it again, nerves will build, but nerves aren't a bad thing.”
McCarthy has been a club stalwart since they were plying their trade at Junior ‘B’ level but has seen a lot of comings and goings at the club in the decade-plus he has lined out in blue and white.
“They're (new players) young, but they're very, very mature, and even in their short careers alone, they've played big games.
“So, they’re used to be occasions, like young people these days don't seem to get fazed by much. I'm a teacher, so you see that close up, I think they're all going to be excited for it.
“Fr Caseys are massive football team, massive success, underage, and obviously I know a couple of the lads personally, and even chatting to them, you get a sense of the talent that they have out there
“So, we expect a massive battle, but we've got a massive amount of belief in recent weeks from the quarter-finals, semi-finals, so we're expecting a massive game, but we're all looking forward to it and it should be a great game for the neutral, hopefully.”
With a huge cross-over from the club’s senior hurling team, McCarthy has seen first hand the need for a strong panel of players to keep the show on the road at this level of competition.
“I think the biggest lesson I've learned, personally, this year, is the value of a team and the value of a panel,” he said. “Thirty players have seen game time this year in senior, and you can really see it, and even those players that are coming on and getting a bit of game time, they're really driving the standards of training.”
Like some many communities across Limerick, and further afield, Kildimo-Pallaskenry has struggled with playing numbers, losing players to immigration and other factors.
“I think every year the team model seems to change in recent years, lads are going away,” McCarthy outlined. “Certain lads are retiring, but I suppose you can only deal with what's there and trying to do the very best at what you have at your disposal.
“To be fair, credit to everyone involved, and even the management we have, the current management and managements gone by, we've always put our best foot forward and be it hurling or football, everyone has always tried to drive things on.”